Support assembly

ABSTRACT

This invention relates to a table ( 10 ) that includes a table top ( 11 ) having an upper support surface that in use lies in a substantially horizontal plane. The table top ( 11 ) is supported by an upstanding post ( 14 ) which includes a lower end portion that is spaced from said table top and is supported in a generally upstanding attitude by a plurality of supports ( 17 ) that extend outwardly from said lower end portion, each of said supports including a distal end portion that in use is adapted to engage a foundation. One of said supports ( 17   a ) is adjustable and wherein movement of the adjustable support is controlled by control means ( 39 ) housed within the post ( 14 ) adjacent the table top ( 11 ).

This invention relates to a support assembly.

This invention has particular, but not exclusive application, to asupport assembly, such as a table, for supporting foods and beveragesand wherein reference will be made to same. However it will beappreciated that the invention may also be used in conjunction withsupport assemblies for supporting other goods, such as sheet music andcameras.

Many restaurants, cafes and the like serve food on tables that comprisea table top which rests upon a centrally located post that depends froman underside of the table and at least three foundation engagingsupporting members or feet that extend outwardly from a lower end ofsaid post. If the table is placed on a level surface of a foundation,ideally all of the feet will engage the foundation. However, rarely isthe surface of a foundation, such as the floor of a restaurant or apaved courtyard, level and whereby only some of the feet of the tableare likely to engage the surface. As a consequence, downward pressure onthe table top at or near the foot or feet that are not engaging thefoundation, such as when handling food on a plate, may cause theunstable table to rock. This rocking can be a nuisance and in the pastdiners have been known to wedge one or more paper serviettes betweeneach foot that is not in contact with the foundation and the foundationitself so as to overcome the problem.

With the above in mind, each foot of a table may include a foundationengaging pad that is mounted on a threaded stem which depends from andthreadably engages a distal end portion of said foot, and whereby in usethe distance separating the pad from the distal end portion of the footmay be adjusted such that in use all of the pads engage the foundation.However, it will be appreciated that in order to adjust the spacingbetween a pad and an adjacent foot of an upright table, the personmaking the adjustment invariably must get down on their hands and knees.This is not desirable as it may place the person in a position that isphysically uncomfortable and whereby contact with the foundation maysoil the person's clothes.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a supportassembly which alleviates at least some of the deficiencies of the priorart and which will be reliable and efficient in use.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, this invention relates toa support assembly including:

a plate like member having an upper support surface that in use lies ina substantially horizontal plane;

an upstanding, post that is attached to and which provides support forsaid plate like member, said post having a lower end portion that isspaced from said plate like member;

a plurality of supports that extend outwardly from said lower endportion of said upstanding post in diverging directions, each of saidsupports including a distal end portion that in use is adapted to engagea foundation, characterized in that one of said supports is a levellingsupport that includes a mounting portion that is rigidly connected tosaid post and a moveable distal end portion that is pivotally connectedto said mounting portion whereby said distal end portion may move up ordown, and movement of said movable distal end portion is effected byactuation means that is controlled by control means located adjacentsaid plate like member.

Preferably the support assembly is a table and the plate like member isa table top.

In another aspect, this invention relates to a table including:

a table top having an upper support surface that in use lies in asubstantially horizontal plane;

an upstanding post that is attached to and which provides support forsaid table top and which includes a lower end portion that is spacedfrom said table top;

a plurality of supports that extend outwardly from said lower endportion of said post in diverging directions, each of said supportsincluding a distal end portion that in use is adapted to engage afoundation, characterized in that one of said supports is a levellingsupport that includes a mounting portion that is rigidly connected tosaid post and a movable distal end portion that is pivotally connectedto said mounting portion whereby said movable distal end portion maymove up or down relative to said mounting portion, and movement of saidmovable distal end portion is effected by actuation means that iscontrolled by control means located adjacent said table top.

In one embodiment, the movable distal end portion may form one part of alever that also includes an opposing height control arm. The heightcontrol arm may for aesthetic reasons be housed within the mountingportion.

Movement of the height control arm may be effected by an actuatingmember, one end of which is adapted to engage a free end portion of theheight control arm. Again, for aesthetic reasons, the actuating membermay be housed within the post and whereby movement of the actuationmember may be limited to linear movement in a generally verticaldirection.

The control means may be adapted to control movement of the actuationmember, which in turn controls the extent to which the movable distalend portion moves up or down. In one embodiment, movement of theactuation member may be effected by rotation of the actuation memberabout a longitudinal axis. This may be achieved by control means that isaccessible through an opening formed in the plate like member or tabletop. Alternatively the control means may be housed within the post andaccessed via an opening formed in said post.

In still yet another aspect, this invention relates to a tableincluding:

a table top having an upper support surface that in use lies in asubstantially horizontal plane;

a plurality of supports that collectively provide support for said tabletop, each of said supports including a distal end portion that in use isadapted to engage a foundation, characterized in that one of saidsupports is a levelling support that includes a movable distal endportion and whereby in use said movable distal end portion may movegenerally in a vertical direction and movement of said movable distalend portion is effected by actuation means that is controlled by controlmeans located adjacent said table top.

For example, the supports may each take the form of a table leg and theactuation means may be concealed within the leg having the movabledistal end portion. Further, the control means may be located adjacentan upper end portion of the leg having the movable distal end portionand it to may also be at least partially concealed within the leg.Alternatively, the control means may be accessed through a suitableopening in the table top.

In order that this invention may be more readily understood and put intopractical effect, reference will now be made to the accompanyingdrawings which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a side view of a table that is constructed in accordance withthe present invention, said table including a table top that is attachedto and supported by a post having a lower end portion from which thereextends a plurality of supports, including one adjustable support,movement of which is effected by actuation means that may be selectivelycontrolled by either top or side control means;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional pictorial view showing the two controlmeans, the actuation means and the adjustable support.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional pictorial view of a section of the hollowpost showing both the top and side control means, and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional pictorial view of a section of the postshowing the side control means.

FIG. 1 shows a table 10 that includes a plate like table top 11 that iscircular in shape when viewed from above. The table top 11 includes asubstantially flat upper support surface 12 that may be used to providesupport for foods and beverages.

The table top 11 is supported in a generally horizontal attitude by asubstantially vertically orientated post 14 that is constructed from athin walled length of cylindrical tubing. The post 14 includes an upperend portion 15, that is attached to the table top 11, and an opposinglower end portion 16.

The post 14 is supported in an upstanding attitude by four supports 17that extend outwardly from the lower end portion 16 in divergentdirections including one adjustable support 17 a. Each support 17,including the adjustable support 17 a includes a nylon pad 18, that isattached to an underside of said support, which is adapted to engage afoundation, such as the floor of a restaurant.

The adjustable support includes a channel shaped mounting portion 19,that is open at both ends, and a lever 20 that is pivotally connected tosaid mounting portion. The mounting portion 19 comprises a top wall 21and two opposing side walls 22. One end portion 23 of the mountingportion 19 is affixed to the post 14. The other or free end portion 24includes two aligned apertures 25 formed in the side walls 22.

The lever 20 includes a distal end portion 26 that extends outwardlyfrom the mounting 19 and a height control arm 27 that is retained withinthe mounting 19. The lever 20 also includes a mounting aperture formedtherein that is located intermediate the height control arm 27 and thedistal end portion 26. The lever 20 is pivotally connected to themounting 19 by a mounting pin 28 that extends through the alignedapertures.

The height control arm 27 includes an end portion 29 comprising twoopposing forks 30 in which there is formed aligned apertures 31.

The table 10 also includes an actuating member or cylindrically shapedpush rod 32 that is retained within the post 14. The actuating member 32has a lower end portion 33 that is bent in the shape of a letter “L” andwhereby the outwardly extending foot, not shown, is locatable within atransverse aperture formed in a connecting pin 34, partway betweenopposing ends 35 of said pin. The pin ends 35 are located withinrespective apertures 31 of the forks 30 and whereby the connecting pin34 pivotally connects the actuating member 32 to the height control arm27.

The actuating member 32 also includes an upper end portion 36 to whichthere is rigidly affixed a tube 37 having an upper end portion 38 inwhich there is formed a threaded bore, not shown.

Movement of the actuating member, and in turn the adjustable support 17a, is controlled by control means 39 that includes a control shaft 40that is rotatably supported in a substantially vertical attitude withinthe post 14 by a control shaft mounting assembly 41.

The control shaft 40 includes an upper end portion 55 having a squareshaped transverse cross-section and a lower end portion 42 that isthreaded and which is adapted to threadably engage the bore of the tube37 that is affixed to the actuating member 32.

Intermediate the two ends of the control shaft 40 there is provided anadjustment wheel 43 that is affixed to said shaft and which includes aknurled or toothed circumferential edge.

The control shaft mounting assembly 41 includes a pair of opposingflanges 44 that are maintained in a spaced relationship by anintermediate connecting flange 45. Each of the flanges 44 includes anaperture 46 formed therein through which the control shaft 40 can extendin use.

One of the flanges 44 a is also connected to a mounting plate 47 thatdepends from an edge of said flange 44 a, said mounting plate 47 havingtwo mounting apertures formed therein. The mounting plate 45 is securedto an inside face of the post 14 by two threaded fasteners 48 thatextend through aligned apertures formed in the wall of the post 14 andthe mounting plate.

As previously stated, the control shaft 40 extends through the alignedapertures 46 and is supported by the flanges 44 by two washers 49located there between and on either side of the adjustment wheel 43.

In use, if all of the pads 18 of the supports 17 are not engaging thefoundation, the position of the adjustable support 17 a may be adjustedusing the control means 39 such that all of the pads 18 do in factengage the foundation. This may be achieved by rotating the controlshaft 40 using either a key having a square shaped socket that isadapted to engage the end portion 55, access to which is gained via anopening formed in the table top 11, or by rotating the adjustment wheel43, an edge portion of which projects through a slotted opening 50formed in the post 14.

When the control shaft 40 rotates in a clock wise direction, asindicated by arrow 51, the threaded end portion 42 will extend furtherinto the bore of the upper end portion 38 of the sleeve 37 therebyeffectively shortening the distance separating the adjustment wheel 43and the connecting pin 34, which in turn will result in a correspondingdownwardly directed movement of the distal end portion 26, as indicatedby arrow 52.

Conversely, when the control shaft 40 rotates in a counter clock wisedirection, as indicated by arrow 53, the threaded end portion 42 willbegin to extract itself from the bore of the upper end portion 38 of thesleeve 37 thereby effectively lengthening the distance separating theadjustment wheel 43 and the connecting pin 34, which in turn will resultin a corresponding upwardly directed movement of the distal end portion26, as indicated by arrow 54.

It will be appreciated that by using the control means as described, thelevel of the support surface of the table may be readily and easilyadjusted and that there is no need for persons when making said adjuststo get down on their hands and knees.

It will of course be realized that while the foregoing description hasbeen given by way of example of this invention, all other modificationsand variations thereto as would be apparent to persons skilled in theart are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambit of thisinvention as herein defined in the appended claims.

1. A table including: a table top having an upper support surface thatin use lies in a substantially horizontal plane; an upstanding post thatis attached to and which provides support for said table top and whichincludes a lower end portion that is spaced from said table top; aplurality of supports that extend outwardly from said lower end portionof said post in diverging directions, each of said supports including adistal end portion that in use is adapted to engage a foundation,characterized in that one of said supports is a levelling support thatincludes a mounting portion that is rigidly connected to said post and amovable distal end portion that is pivotally connected to said mountingportion whereby said movable distal end portion may move up or downrelative to said mounting portion, and movement of said movable distalend portion is effected by an actuator that is controlled by acontroller located adjacent said table, top.
 2. A table as claimed inclaim 1, wherein said levelling support is a lever.
 3. A table asclaimed in claim 2, wherein said actuator is housed within said post. 4.A table as claimed in claim 3, wherein said controller is housed withinsaid post.
 5. A table including: a table top having an upper supportsurface that in use lies in a substantially horizontal plane; aplurality of supports that collectively provide support for said tabletop, each of said supports including a distal end portion that in use isadapted to engage a foundation, characterized in that one of saidsupports is a levelling support that includes a movable distal endportion and whereby in use said movable distal end portion may movegenerally in a vertical direction and movement of said movable distalend portion is effected by an actuator that is controlled by acontroller located adjacent said table top.
 6. A table substantially ashereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
 7. Asupport assembly including: a plate like member having an upper supportsurface that in use lies in a substantially horizontal plane; anupstanding, post that is attached to and which provides support for saidplate like member, said post having a lower end portion that is spacedfrom said plate like member; a plurality of supports that extendoutwardly from said lower end portion of said upstanding post indiverging directions, each of said supports including a distal endportion that in use is adapted to engage a foundation, characterized inthat one of said supports is a levelling support that includes amounting portion that is rigidly connected to said post and a moveabledistal end portion that is pivotally connected to said mounting portionwhereby said distal end portion may move up or down, and movement ofsaid movable distal end portion is effected by an actuator that iscontrolled by a controller located adjacent said plate like member.
 8. Asupport assembly as claimed in claim 7, wherein said support assembly isa table and said plate like member is a table top.